The Cannon Flashcards
The cannons origin
The cannon first came to Europe around 1320. It was a new type of weapon using gunpowder to power a force to fire a projectile. It originally used stone shots then later from the fifteenth century used cast iron cannon balls
Issues with the cannons original method of production
It originally was made by using iron sheets bent into tube a tube shape and reinforced with iron bands this was both time consuming and costly. There where therefore few cannons until the 1400’s.
How it’s original method of production was improved to make it easier to make
From the 1400’s it became increasingly more possible to make cast iron cannon by pouring liquid iron into a mould. This was quicker and cheaper then before so cannons where produced more often
The dangers of the cannon
From 1400’s a new gunpowder was created which increased it reliability and reduced (but didn’t eliminate) the chance of it exploding upon firing. This was due to the development of slow burning gunpowder creating a powerful and reliable explosion
How did cannons become better then other siege engines
Cannons had short range and poor accuracy which meant things like trebuchets where better at destroying and castle or fortifications. They where not used frequently typically being fired only 12 times a day. But over time improvements where made to their rate and range which lead to them being used more from the late 1370’s
The canons usage during this period and why
Often used in sieges to bring down walls and where rarely spotted on a battlefield other then to fire a series of opening shots at the start. This was somewhat down to them requiring servers horses to move and was hard to move during battle.
Did the cannon represent a turning point in warfare
In someways yes, it introduced gunpowder a new technology to other weapons at the time and the impact of cannons( and other gunpowder weapons) would have a long lasting impact. They did not rapidly change the nature of war for most of the Middle Ages. Technological problems limited their effectiveness.
